It's still shoots five shot clovers.
It's a matter of what your maximum tolerance for accuracy is. If you're happy with "five shot clovers", then when those clovers start to open up to 5 separate holes, get a new barrel.

On the other hand, if you want them all in .400" or less, you need a barrel now.
Hart, Shilen, Krieger, Blackstar and Lija are all premium, benchrest quality barrel makers... to name but a few. ;)
Can a Smith just simply put a bore light in it and tell?
They can look at throat erosion and muzzle condition (you are using a bore guide... right?), but unless they have a borescope, that's about all they can see well. Sometimes, you run into a barrel that looks pretty used up, and it still shoots 3/4" or less groups all day long... which for a lot of folks, is plenty fine.
Sometimes a re-crown and/or re-chamber will take a OK barrel and turn it back into a great barrel.
When it does come time to replace it, what barrel company do I go with? Something in the $300 range?
First, find a quality gunsmith... many custom barrel makers will recommend a 'smith in your location. If you met Hart and like the guy, you can't go wrong with a Hart barrel... they've been on guns winning literally thousands of shooting competitions.
Hart has a full service gunsmithing shop... they can chamber, finish and install your barrel. The barrel and work will cost about as much as you paid for your entire rifle... benchrest quality barrels and 'smithing ain't cheap (http://www.hartbarrels.com/rebarrelingprices.php). :D

C

Art Eatman

January 31, 2013, 01:11 PM

If your primary purpose is for prairie dogs, you're pretty much okay until your groups open up toward an MOA or a bit over--unless you cut back to a couple of hundred yards for your shots.

Throat erosion is the common culprit. A competent gunsmith can cut the barrel back past that problem and reset it. That will commonly restore accuracy.

Takem406

January 31, 2013, 02:00 PM

Thanks guys!

Yep, bore guide and Teflon one piece rod.

It's actually more like a one hole a quarter to nickel sized group.

Looking forward to a new barrel anyways to be able to go from a 1-14 to a 1-12 twist. Make it more friendly for heavier bullets.

Really lucky to have a German gunsmith near by when the time comes.

In God and Glock we Trust

adelbridge

January 31, 2013, 02:58 PM

you should be good for 4000 rounds

firesky101

January 31, 2013, 03:20 PM

I am a fan of shaw barrels. They are great for the price.

TexasPatriot.308

February 1, 2013, 01:09 AM

how many average owners of .22-250s shoot enough rounds to burn out a barrel? very few I would say.

chaser_2332

February 1, 2013, 01:21 AM

No real science to when a barrel is done. Just shoot until your not happy with the accuracy then set it back or rebarrel. I would strongly recommend bartlein barrels

Takem406

February 1, 2013, 05:16 AM

What about shooting a hot barrel? What's that effect? I know there's times when I really need to let it cool, but there's that one last dog.

In God and Glock we Trust

IROCZ

February 1, 2013, 06:02 AM

My .22/250 wears a E.R. Shaw barrel and I am very happy with it. Texas Patriot, we have chucks in Pa, we shoot ours alot! Luckily, E.R. Shaw is right down the road from me so it is easy to get a new barrel. We get about 4k out of a barrel with careful cleaning. When the action is fast we leave our bolts open between shots to try to keep the heat down on the barrel.

joed

February 1, 2013, 06:29 AM

The rifle will tell you when the barrel is shot out. What you'll notice is a nice 3 shot group and the the 4th off somewhere else on the paper.

A gunsmith can inspect the bore and tell you when it's time. I took mine in because of the fliers and that was when I was told the bore was getting smooth.

From what I've seen with a .22-250 average life is somewhere around 1500 rounds before accuracy starts to go.

Takem406, you have a good view on rebarreling. I've shot one rifle out and was thrilled to have it redone. It now shoots very small groups and cleans up with 2 patches.

Rottweiler

February 1, 2013, 10:39 AM

I was recently thinking my .22-250's barrel was done too. Instead of heading straight into re-barrel mode I cleaned the hell out of it with JB bore paste and then gave it a second chance to prove its self. It hits clay pigeons at 500 yards AGAIN, just like it did 2-3000 rounds ago. How long will this hold up? I'll have to get back to you on that.

SwampWolf

February 1, 2013, 04:23 PM

What about shooting a hot barrel? What's that effect?

I'm of the opinion that more premature barrel/chamber wear, especially when shooting a high velocity cartridge like the 22-250, is caused by rapid firing with a heated barrel than is caused by the number of rounds shot (within a practical limit of comparison-in other words, firing 5,000 bullets from a cold barrel would no doubt cause more barrel/chamber wear than would fifty shots fired rapidly through a hot barrel). When shooting my Swift (or even my rifles chambered in the relatively mild .223) I take my time between shots-even if the next dog on the list is giving me the finger. :p

joed

February 1, 2013, 05:48 PM

I was recently thinking my .22-250's barrel was done too. Instead of heading straight into re-barrel mode I cleaned the hell out of it with JB bore paste and then gave it a second chance to prove its self. It hits clay pigeons at 500 yards AGAIN, just like it did 2-3000 rounds ago. How long will this hold up? I'll have to get back to you on that.
And there you have why my .25-06 needed a new barrel at 900 rounds. When I bought that rifle new I became a fanatic at using JB bore paste. I'm sure that's what hurried the wear

Since the rebarreling I use Sweets when I need to get copper fouling out. It eats copper and isn't abrasive.

Vern Humphrey

February 1, 2013, 06:22 PM

Generally speaking, when accuracy begins to fall off, you need to thoroughly clean the barrel, then load the bullet a little farther out, closer to the lede. That'll usually allow you another thousand or so rounds.